Authenticity

Back after a week’s breather, this morning I am in Reading, Berkshire and delivering a one-day workshop to a small group of coaches, one of whom is traveling over from Germany and another from Ireland – that’s commitment. My intention will be to help them deconstruct and reconstruct their practices in a non-judgmental environment with their peers. Today we will begin the process of creating a working community and, I suspect, some lifelong friendships. I have no fixed presentation in mind, just “how can I help?” coaching – what I call “bar stool coaching” – just sitting at the front of the room and having a good conversation. I love days like this. Time to think last week and only one great conclusion: “To live my life authentically, tell everyone I know exactly what I perceive, how it makes me feel and ask them to respect my boundaries.” Once done – others then have the right to decide whether they want me in their life or not – as my first coach said to me back in 1997, “since when was other people’s opinion of you any of your business?”